Dame Catherine Cookson was born in 1906. From an early age Catherine was determined to become a writer. She wrote her first short story when she was eleven, sending it off to the South Shields Gazette.
She left school at thirteen and worked in domestic service and in a workhouse before moving to Hastings. At thirtyfour she married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master. In the years that followed Catherine suffered several miscarriages and fell into a depression. She returned to writing to recover and joined the local writers’ group for encouragement. Her first book, Kate Hannigan (1950), was partly autobiographical.
Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer, Catherine’s readership soon began to spread around the world. Catherine’s novels have been translated into more than twenty languages and over 100 million copies of her books have been sold. Catherine died shortly before her ninety-second birthday in June 1998 having completed 104 works, nine of which were published posthumously. By the time of her death Catherine Cookson had received an OBE, the Freedom of the Borough of South Tyneside, an honorary degree from the University of Newcastle and the Royal Society of Literature’s award for Best Regional Novel of the Year.
Catherine Cookson was the most borrowed author in UK public libraries for twenty years – a sure testament to the ongoing popularity of her stirring, timeless novels.
NOVELS
NOVELS
BOOKS BY CATHERINE COOKSON
The Black Velvet Gown
Kate Hannigan
Kate Hannigan
The Fifteen Streets
The Fifteen Streets
Colour Blind
Colour Blind
Maggie Rowan
Maggie Rowan
Rooney
Rooney
The Menagerie
The Menagerie
Slinky Jane
Fanny McBride
Slinky Jane
Fenwick Houses
Fanny McBride
Heritage of Folly
Fenwick Houses
The Garment
Heritage of Folly
The Garment
The Fen Tiger
The Fen Tiger
The Blind Miller
A Wife’s Devotion (previously The Blind Miller)
House of Men
House of Men
Hannah Massey
The Long Corridor
Hannah Massey
The Long Corridor
The Unbaited Trap
The Unbaited Trap
Katie Mulholland
Katie Mullholland’s Journey (previously Katie Mullholland)
The Round Tower
The Round Tower
The Nice Bloke
A Scandal at Christmas (previously The Nice Bloke)
The Glass Virgin
The Invitation
The Glassmaker’s Daughter (previously The Glass Virgin)
The Invitation
The Dwelling Place
Feathers in the Fire
The Dwelling Place
Pure as the Lily
The Mallen Streak
Her Secret Son (previously Feathers in the Fire)
The Mallen Girl
Pure as the Lily
The Mallen Streak
The Mallen Litter
The Mallen Girl
The Invisible Cord
The Mallen Litter
The Invisible Cord
The Gambling Man
The Gambling Man
The Tide of Life
The Slow Awakening
The Tide of Life
The Iron Façade
The Slow Awakening
The Girl
The Iron Façade
The Girl
The Cinder Path
The Cinder Path
Miss Martha Mary Crawford
Miss Martha Mary Crawford
The Man Who Cried
The Man Who Cried
Tilly Trotter
Tilly Trotter
Tilly Trotter Wed
Tilly Trotter Widowed
Tilly Trotter Wed Widowed
The Whip
THE MARY ANN STORIES
Hamilton
A Grand Man
THE MARY ANN STORIES
The Lord and Mary Ann
A Grand Man
The Lord and Mary Ann
The Devil and Mary Ann
The Devil and Mary Ann
Love and Mary Ann
Love and Mary Ann
FOR CHILDREN
FOR CHILDREN
Matty Doolin
Matty Doolin
Joe and the Gladiator
Joe and the Gladiator
The Nipper
The Nipper
Rory’s Fortune
Rory’s Fortune
John
Our John Willie
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Our Kate
Our Kate
Catherine Cookson Country
Catherine Cookson Country
Just a Saying
Just a Saying
SHORT STORIES
SHORT STORIES
The Simple Soul and other Stories
The Simple Soul and other Stories
The Whip
Goodbye Hamilton
Hamilton
A Dinner of Herbs
The Black Velvet Gown
Harold
The Moth
Goodbye Hamilton
A Dinner of Herbs
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey’s Lot
Harold
Bill Bailey’s Daughter
The Moth
The Parson’s Daughter
The Cultured Handmaiden
Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey’s Lot
Bill Bailey’s Daughter
The Smuggler’s Secret (previously the Harrogate Secret)
The Black Candle
The Parson’s Daughter
The Cultured Handmaiden
The Harrogate Secret
A Marriage of Scandal (previously The Wingless Bird)
The Black Candle
Daughter of Scandal (previously The Gillyvors)
My Beloved Son
The Wingless Bird
The Gillyvors
My Beloved Son
The Rag Maid (previously The Rag Nymph)
The House of Women
The Rag Nymph
The House of Women
The Maltese Angel
The Voice of an Angel (previously The Maltese Angel)
The Year of the Virgins
The Year of the Virgins
The Golden Straw
The Hatmaker’s Gift (previously The Golden Straw)
Justice is a Woman
Justice is a Woman
The Tinker’s Girl
The Tinker’s Girl
A Ruthless Need
A Ruthless Need
The Obsession
The Upstart
A Sister’s Obsession (previously The Obsession)
The Branded Man
The Cobbler’s Daughter (previously The Upstart)
The Bonny Dawn
The Bondage of Love
The Wayward Daughter (previously The Branded Man)
The Bonny Dawn
The Desert Crop
The Lady on My Left
The Bondage of Love
The Solace of Sin
Riley
An Unsuitable Match (previously The Desert Crop)
The Blind Years
The Lady on My Left
The Solace of Sin
The Thursday Friend
Riley
A House Divided
The Blind Years
The Thursday Friend
Kate Hannigan’s Girl
A House Divided
Rosie of the River
The Silent Lady
Kate Hannigan’s Girl
Rosie of the River
The Silent Lady
Life and Mary Ann
Marriage and Mary Ann
Life and Mary Ann
Marriage and Mary Ann
Mary Ann’s Angels
Mary Ann and Bill
Mary Ann’s Angels
Mary Ann and Bill
Mrs Flannagan’s Trumpet
Mrs Flannagan’s Trumpet
Go Tell It To Mrs Golightly
Go Tell It To Mrs Golightly
Lanky Jones
Lanky Jones
Nancy Nutall and the Mongrel
Nancy Nutall and the Mongrel
Bill and Mary Ann Shaughnessy
Bill and the Mary Ann Shaughnessy
Let Me Make Myself Plain
Let Me Make Myself Plain
Plainer Still
Plainer Still